Perfect Greek Holiday!

Sail Date:
August 2013

Destination:
Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Embarkation:
Venice

We had always travelled "by land" in Europe so this was a huge change for us. We thought this would be the best way to see Greece and it really was. We were delighted with our perfect cabin and wonderful stewart Apolonio from The Philippines .. he could not do more for us from the first glass of champage to repairing my suitcase ! In fact the people on the ship were consistantly excellant and had a smile for all occasions.

I had been abit worried about certain aspects of cruising - since we always travel alone and like it that way but we opted for casual dining and every night found a table of new friends. The food was varied and after having a large table for 10 which we found hard to speak around - we just asked for 6 or 8 seating - we never waited more than a couple of moments for a table as we always shared - I cant imagine sitting by ourselves and not getting "into" it. And wasnt it nice to not have people on their phones or texting - it is such an annoying habit that we More
really were pleased to not see !! I find generally British travellers are the ones you want to share with - they have the right attitude to travel - they want to enjoy themselves and are open and friendly (I am abit predjudiced as my husband is Scottish). Other travellers really shouldnt leave home - always finding something to complain about - but when we found ourselves with a couple like that - well we just chatted around them and let them natter away to themselves then avoided them in future ! Most cruisers seemed to be very experienced !

The things we were disappointed in was the expensive and poor quality internet access - and that is only because we have to keep in touch with our office and most of the time it took a long time of your paid allocation to connect - it should really be a free service.

We took several excursions and they were really well organised and the guides obviously well versed in their destinations. We felt we got good value for our money. We also went on our own for some places - Corfu, Olympia, Dubrovnik and Naples - it is very easy to get around on your own in any of the ports actually.

We also had a good experience embarking - we were in our cabin before noon and cases there soon after .. and leaving went smoothly as well as we had an early flight from Rome.

Although we probably wont be cruising again any time soon - we still prefer the freedom a car has - we would recommend this tour for anyone wanting to see this area. We really liked our cabin location too - it was very private and close enough to the elevator we could go to 15th deck easily and stairs to 7th deck for promenade. Although we were right above Club Fusion did not hear a peep (although in saying that - it was never busy ..)The only sound we had was when coming into port - but after the first time - we knew what the noise was and just ignored it ..I am sure seasoned travellers would not notice it. We were also pleased with the comfort of our beds - and used our balcony every day - just relaxing with a cold bottle of wine

There are so many places to relax on board that it was easy to find a quiet or active spot - and lets face it the food is available all the time .. Less

Cabin review: ADE726

Cabin E726. It was perfect with plenty of storage space and lots of hangers. The bathroom exceeded my expectations as I had heard it was small but I guess it is all relative - we had lovely fresh towels twice a day and bath products. We were in the aft area and loved the quietness of the cabin - and privacy. It was handy for the elevators too with level 15 easily reached (for buffet breakfast). The laundry was close too - and usually available (I used it twice with no waiting). We also liked the stairway to the 7th floor where we could just go on the promenade .. I would book this cabin again !

Port and Shore Excursions

Acropolis

We had been to Athens many years ago and this was the main thing we wanted to see - I made sure we booked the morning tour as it was going to be hot. There are lots of tours there at any time but our guide kept us together well, she was very good. It was actually not as strenuous as they advertised (fortunately) but the stones are smooth and uneven ..

This time we took a bus from the pier and went to a square where there were shops and cafes etc. We just walked through the streets - did abit of damage at the shops - was very pleased with their array of beautiful cotton blouses and dresses and great prices ! We walked back to the ship - took about half an hour

You dont really need local currency as they accept euros (I did not see any USD)We just took the ships bus for 5 euros to the old city. We spent several hours just looking through the shops and market. We went on the wall walk - about 1.5 miles - it had great views and was very popular - you can come down any time you dont need to do the whole thing. We stopped a couple of times for cold beer and just people watching.

We werent really interested in seeing the Olympic park since we knew we would be seeing alot of stadeums etc. We walked from the pier - only afew moments to a great shopping area (hmm a theme here !) .. but if you need to replace a suitcase - this is the place to do it .. and they did "haggle". I bought some nice jewelry at good prices .. and then we went to the beach just on the left side of the port - there are brollies, loungers, etc .. alot of people from the ship found their way there - water was beautiful!

Carpet Weaving

very interesting actually - they obviously have tourists all the time but I did learn abit too. No wonder these carpets are so expensive as they are very labour intensive .. and we had a nice snack of fruit and pasties with apple cider. Needless to say they were wanting to sell sell sell - so if you arent in the market - they go to the next person.

Ephesus

we hadnt realised how busy the House of Virgin Mary was - it was easily the busiest destination in any tour - there were thousands there and maybe a hundred buses - and it is a tiny area ! We just drove by Ephesus so didnt really see it much.

Kalafatis Beach

This is not a port to leave to chance as we found out. We had been to Pompeei and Sorrento 4 years ago so thought we would just check out naples - bad idea - there is nothing there (sorry Naples !). There was a bus from the pier for about a mile to a sort of bus area - we took a city off/on bus tour and not only was it more expensive than any other city tour but it was - dare I say it - boring ! In retrospect we would have just taken a taxi (there were lots) to the rail station and just gone to Sorrento for afew hours as it is a pretty town to relax in. But this is the only stop that was a dud. Most people went on the whole day tours taking in Sorrento etc.

our tour was very early but everyone enjoyed the winery - it is quite different from most places as the wines are not growing up but in a circle .. very nice view though and they had samples of foods as well as wine